Bride boards wedding car to be picked up, "Pay 34 million won more"... Reason why her older brother stepped in

Bride's Brother Demands "More Money" from Groom
Chai-ri Culture of Giving Money to Bride's Side Before Wedding in China
Concerns Over "Turning into a Means of Financial Transaction"

In Henan Province, China, the biological older brother of a bride blocked the wedding car and demanded money. [Source=Douyin]

At a wedding in China, the bride's older brother caused a commotion by demanding "more money."

According to local media including Zhonghua Wang on the 6th, at a wedding in Huaibin County, Xinyang, Henan Province, the bride's older brother demanded an additional 180,000 yuan (about 34 million KRW) from the groom's side on the wedding day. In China, there is a long-standing custom called 'Chaili,' where the groom's side pays a large sum of money to the bride's family before the wedding.

The groom refused, saying he had already handed over the agreed 180,000 yuan from both families, but the bride's brother blocked the wedding car, saying, "If you don't give more money, I won't let my sister go." Despite others trying to persuade him, he stubbornly persisted. Eventually, the bride tried to escape by jumping from the second floor of a building to avoid her brother. Later, with the help of acquaintances, the bride and groom got into the car, but the brother and his wife lay down to block the car from leaving, causing a disturbance. The police were called and arrived at the scene to mediate, warning the bride's brother about the 'principle of freedom of marriage.' Finally, the bride was able to proceed with the wedding safely after the situation was resolved.

The video capturing this scene rapidly spread on the Chinese social networking service (SNS) 'Douyin,' drawing widespread attention. Chinese netizens expressed deep concern about this incident, saying it was "an example of the Chaili culture, once considered a blessing for a new beginning, being distorted into a means of monetary transaction." In fact, Chaili has transformed from a "sign of respect to the bride's family" into a "bad custom of selling the bride for money," receiving much criticism. Korean netizens who saw the video also reacted with comments such as "A brother like that is worse than none," "I feel sorry for the bride and groom," and "It's no different from treating the sister as a commodity for money."